Christmas Seeds
by elenorecanard
Summary: Remus and Tonks take a walk at Christmas time.


Disclaimer: Clearly, I'm not JK Rowling, therefore, all of these characters are hers, and so is everything you recognize.

Title: Christmas Seeds  
Word Count: 1,444  
Rating: PG  
Prompts: Pine cones, A toast  
Summary: A walk before a Christmas party.

Author's Note: This was written for the Metamorphic moon Christmas Advent Challenge (posted as Ladyblythe).

The pinecone in question had been brought into the gloomy house on Grimmauld Place to be used as a decoration for Christmas time, which was fast approaching. It had been laid in a basket and set by the fire to melt off all the snow. Sometime during the course of the evening, it was liberated from the basket by a ginger colored cat who thought it looked better suited for hunting practice than for life as a decoration. Fortunately for the pinecone, and unfortunately for a particularly clumsy witch, the cat had been distracted by a red-headed girl with a butterbeer cork and abandoned the pinecone in the entry way.

Nymphadora Tonks was having a great day. Her warming charm hadn't caused her breakfast to explode, and she had only tripped over her feet in the Ministry atrium once all day. Now, she was determined to surprise him. She quietly eased the front door open, peering inside to locate her nemesis. Spotting the umbrella stand in the corner, she slipped inside and neatly skirted the troll's foot only to bring her own foot down on a stray pinecone and go sprawling noisily to the floor. She muttered a short string of curse words as the portrait on the wall started shrieking about Mudbloods and shape-shifting freaks.

"Yes, yes, Mrs. Black. We know how much you hate us," cooed a familiar voice.

Tonks picked herself up and helped Remus pull the curtains closed over Sirius' mother. "Wotcher, Remus," she offered when the noise had stopped.

"Hello, Nymphadora."

"Don't ca-" her protest was cut short as he ducked his head to kiss her briefly.

"You were saying?" He grinned at her mischievously.

"I seem to have forgotten," Tonks stammered, with a silly grin affixed to her face.

"What brings you here at this early hour?" Remus asked, lacing his fingers through hers and leading her down to the kitchen.

"Well, I'd thought to surprise you, since I left off work early," Tonks pouted. "So much for that plan."

He kissed her fingers. "On the contrary. I'm very surprised. Pleasantly so."

"Surprised by what, dear?" Molly Weasley asked, not turning away from the stove. "Has Sirius stopped sulking already?"

Tonks raised her eyebrows in askance, but Remus shook his head slightly. "No, Molly. He's still upstairs with Buckbeak. Tonks is here."

Molly turned. "Oh, hello, Dear! I didn't expect you until later. The party doesn't start until supper time."

"I know, Molly. I just stopped by to say hi," she answered, glancing at Remus.

Molly smiled knowingly and Tonks new that no matter how discreet they'd been, Molly had still noticed their romance.

"How is Arthur?" Tonks asked, trying to change the topic before it started. Remus winced at her subject choice.

"He's fine, dear. He'd be better though, if he stopped meddling with Muggle remedies, wouldn't he?" the older woman asserted.

Remus cleared his throat. "I'm going to go up and try to coax Sirius downstairs," he squeezed Tonks' hand gently and escaped the kitchen.

"Is there anything I can help you with, Molly?"

Molly looked doubtful for a moment, but pointed to a stack of plates. "Would you take those to the dining room please?"

Tonks nodded.

Ten minutes later, Molly was shooing Tonks up the stairs to help Remus cheer Sirius up.

"Let me guess," Sirius said as she peeked around the door to Buckbeak's room. "You tried to help Molly?"

Tonks nodded and studied her shoes for a moment.

"What's the damage?" he asked.

Tonks rolled her eyes, and stuck her tong out at Remus, who was working to stifle a laugh in the corner. "Six broken plates, four shattered mugs, three crumbled cookies, and two smashed Christmas baubles," she admitted.

"And a puffskein in a pear tree?" Sirius ventured.

Tonks threw him a very unladylike gesture.

"Haven't Christmas carols gotten you into enough trouble for today?" Remus snorted.

Tonks looked from Remus to Sirius. "What happened?"

"Go on, then. Tell her," Remus urged.

"I was teaching Harry and Ron Jingle Bells," Sirius said, a little too defensively.

"Jingle Bells?" Tonks puzzled.

Remus nodded. "Severus smells, Flitwick laid an egg," he trailed off, barely concealing laughter.

Tonks giggled and Sirius beamed. "Yes, well, Molly didn't find it quite so humorous," he said.

"And Fred and George haven't stopped singing it since Ron spread the word," Remus added.

Tonks snorted and giggled more, "Brilliant!"

A shriek was heard downstairs.

"It sounds like Kreacher has woken Mother again," Sirius sighed. He patted Buckbeak's wing. "See you later, mate," he said.

Remus and Tonks each bowed their farewell to the hippogriff and followed Sirius out the door.

"Hermione has had the boys trapped in the library to research for their Defense group for hours. Molly has banished you from the kitchen and Fred and George are likely to pop, well, anywhere. Fancy going for a walk?" Remus asked.

"Could be lethal, but I'm game," Tonks answered.

Remus laughed quietly.

Minutes later, bundled in coats and scarves, the two ventured into the snow. They were quiet, enjoying the comfortable silence and the soft snowfall.

Until Tonks tripped again. Remus wrapped his arm around her waist to save her from the fall. His arm didn't move after she'd found her feet. She smiled. "Do you know of any Dark creatures that masquerade as pinecones, Professor?"

Remus gave her a puzzled look. "None that I've heard of."

Tonks leaned gently into him as they began to walk again. "Well, there must be, because the little things are conspiring to kill me. That's the second one I've tripped on today."

Remus gestured to another cone, summoning it without his wand or words.

"Show off," Tonks snorted.

His eyes danced, but he showed no other acknowledgement of her jab. "Pinecones," he said, turning it over in his hand, "rather remind me of you."

Tonks frowned. "You think I'm ugly and spiky?"

Remus smiled. "Spiky, maybe," he said, running his had through her short, pink hair. "But never ugly."

She scrunched up her face, producing a nose and ears too large for her face and a wart in the middle of her forehead.

"Still beautiful," he whispered.

"Okay, I'll bite," she laughed, resuming her own face. "Tell me about the pinecone."

"Well, certainly you know that they carry dozens of seeds in each little spike," he started.

Tonks nodded.

"Underneath the tough spikiness, there's a tree waiting to grow. Underneath your tough Auror exterior, you are full of life, and hope," he finished.

Tonks stopped abruptly, turned to face Remus, and slid her arms around his neck.

His hand found its way from her waist, to her back pocket. She smiled up at him for a moment.

"What?" he said.

"I love you, Remus," she said, standing on her toes to kiss him.

He pulled her against him. The kiss warmed them both against the cold.

"Well, honestly!"

The pair pulled apart to see an elderly woman scowling at them. "Have you no discretion?" she huffed.

Tonks lost her resolve first, and soon they both dissolved in laughter. The old woman stomped away, horrified by their reaction, muttering something about grown adults acting like teenagers.

"Maybe it would be best to return home," Remus suggested. "The party should be starting soon."

Tonks nodded and they returned to Grimmauld Place to find many Order members already arrived, and enjoying good food and better company.

When the rest of the Order members had left, and when Molly had shooed the children off to bed, and turned in for the night herself, Tonks could be found curled up next to Remus on the couch in the library.

"Remus?" Tonks said quietly.

"Hmm?"

"Happy Christmas."

Remus smiled. "Happy Christmas, Nymphadora," he said, pressing a kiss to her hair.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Sirius said, carrying a bottle of firewhiskey and three glasses into the room.

"Not yet," Remus answered pointedly, a tinge of disappointment in his voice.

"Right, well, I don't want to know about how you're corrupting my cousin. I just thought a toast was in order," Sirius teased, pouring out measures of whiskey.

"What makes you think I'm not doing the corrupting?" Tonks rolled her eyes.

"Because," Sirius returned, handing her a glass, "I went to school with old Moony here, and I know the way his mind works."

"Thank you, Sirius." Remus tried to cut off the conversation. "What are we toasting to?"

"Christmas carols?" Tonks teased.

"Pinecones," Remus whispered to her, causing a wide smile from Tonks.

"To Christmas with people we love," Sirius answered, raising his glass. "May we all be fortunate enough to be standing here next year."


End file.
